German employment hits record high in Q3

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-13 22:38:03|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BERLIN, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Germany's number of employed inhabitants surpassed the 45-million mark during the third quarter (Q3) of 2018 for the first time since the country's reunification in 1990, figures published on Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office show.

According to the Wiesbaden-based government agency, there were 45.05 million Germans in work between July and September. The figure marked an annual increase of 556,000 individuals or 1.3 percent.

On a quarterly basis, the number of employed persons was up by 259,000 or 0.6 percent compared to the previous three-month-period. Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the increase in employment levels in Q3 was measured slightly lower at plus 0.3 percent or 117,000.

The Federal Statistical Office mainly attributed the development to Germany's "generally favorable labor market situation." The government statisticians also highlighted that employment in the largest Eurozone economy had benefited from "a stable good weather situation" in Q3.

Aside from the continuation of a longer-standing trend towards higher employment, the Federal Statistical Office noted that it had recorded a further increase in the number of dependent employees (plus 1.6 percent) to 40.8 million in total. By contrast, the number self-employed individuals declined again by 1.6 percent to 4.2 million.

Increases in dependent employment in Q3 were once again being driven by more stable forms of socially-insured work. The findings concerning the specific type of jobs created during the period were reflective of a frequently-cited preference among the German labor force for safer, less entrepreneurial careers.

Broken down by sectors of the economy, the service and manufacturing industries were responsible for the bulk of new positions between July and September. The single biggest gain was recorded in the area of public service providers, education and health care (plus 1.7 percent), while financial- and insurance industry employment witnessed another quarter of significant decline (minus 1.7 percent).

Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Holger Schaefer, labor market expert at the German Economic Institute (IW), said that the latest data by the Federal Statistical Office showed that there was still little sign of a recent slow-down in the expansion of Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) in the country's employment statistics. "The increase in employment is currently continuing unabated. In this year, more than half a million new jobs could be created," Schaefer said.

The IW expert drew attention to the "positive" development of socially-insured employment, as well as a simultaneous fall in unemployment. "Even if the labor market reacts with delay to the slight decrease in the pace of economic growth next year, the increase in new positions and decline in unemployment will continue," he added.